In White Houses
by KaceyO
Summary: One shot based on "White Houses" by Vanessa Carlton. Marauder era, Marlene's POV. Marlene/Sirius, Lily/James of course!


_Hi lovely readers! I was listening to this song in the car and I couldn't help putting it on repeat three times because this story just hit me. "White Houses" by Vanessa Carlton really tells a story and I feel like James, Lily, Sirius, Remus and Marlene could have lived it...so I wrote about it as if they did! I love reading about Marlene and it was a really cool new adventure for me to write from her point of view. Enjoy!_

**WHITE HOUSES**

I nearly collapsed when I flooed into the Potter's kitchen.

"Woah there Marley," James said, extending a hand to steady me. I took it, brushed the dust off of my skirt and looked around. James, tall and bespectacled, looking mildly concerned. Lily, right by his side, rolling her eyes at my clumsy entrance. Remus, who looked much older than eighteen, glancing at the calendar on the opposite wall. And finally Sirius, handsome as always, smirking at me. The five of us were a strange group, one that had formed by the end of our seventh year, but somehow we worked.

"We're staying up late tonight!" James said excitedly. It was hard to believe that James had ever really left Hogwarts, this past summer had done him no growing up. Lily and I exchanged a smile and she walked over to me.

"C'mon, I'll show you the guest room where you and I are staying." The large, white Potter mansion was enormous and she led me to a room with a king sized bed. "You look too thin!" She said when I took off my sweater.

"Nah, it's just the food mum cooks," I assured her and we headed back downstairs to join the boys who were in a discussion on the latest Death Eater attacks. I put my arm around Lily, knowing she worried not only for her muggle-born life, but for all of us.

"We're fighting til the end," I reminded her.

--

"I am not kissing Padfoot!" Remus exclaimed as he spun one of the empty firewhiskey bottles and it landed on Sirius.

"Pucker up Moony!" James threw his head back laughing.

"It's not even fair," Remus tried to reason. "There are five of us, three are boys, Prongs would never let me kiss Lily, so I only have a one on five shot of it landing on something tolerable."

"You wouldn't consider kissing yourself tolerable?" Sirius asked mockingly, his gray eyes captivating. Girls at school swooned over his eyes. I would know. We had a short but complicated past, yet I still couldn't resist coming over tonight, knowing full well he'd be here.

A scream from Lily broke me from my thoughts and I looked over at the redhead, clearly the drunkest out of all of us.

"I love this song!" She said, motioning to the radio and getting to her feet. She started dancing to the pop ballad, looking hilarious and carless at the same time. "Dance with me James!" She said, motioning to her boyfriend, who shook his head.

"You know I don't dance Lils," He said, but her emerald eyes were fading his resistance. He took a sip of his butterbeer.

"Fine, then I'll just dance stag." Lily said and the butterbeer flew out of James' nose. Remus and Sirius were in hysterics and I still hadn't spoken. Instead I watched Lily, my crazy best friend dance around in her own world. Her red hair danced around her slim figure, she was always so pretty. She danced over to James and ruffled his hair. Groaning but happy, he got up and danced with her, swinging her around. I watched the look in her eyes as she gazed up at James. Lily was sure James was the one. I wondered if I was more clever—I held on to my heart.

"This heat is crazy," Remus commented, sipping more butterbeer and motioning around.

"Summer, mate." Sirius simply answered, finishing off his own drink.

"It's ending soon." I finally spoke up and Sirius looked at me with those eyes.

"How's home?" He asked politely.

"It's alright," I responded. "It's nice not to be alone." He nodded. I knew a secret about Sirius. He hated being alone too.

"You'll always have me," He said with a cheeky grin. I was definitely over my head with this one and could feel myself blushing at his words. Lily's laugh broke us out of our gaze and we looked over to James dipping her dramatically. He wore a bright red shirt, no doubt still keeping his Gryffindor pride. I looked around at the group. We all had someone in our life that we loved, romantically, familiarly or just adored. But we all had something we had been hurt from. Lily and James, orphaned before they reached nineteen. Sirius, a runaway. Remus, a werewolf. And me…I would never admit how much it hurt when Sirius was seeing other girls when we dated.

But that didn't stop me from following him out back a few hours (and firewhiskeys) later. I bumped into something hard and the smell of leather and gasoline confused me.

"I'm working on a motor bike," Sirius said causally. Then he pinned me against the side of the house and we started to snog in the passionate way that left me breathless last year, just like it was leaving me like that now. His hand slid up my shirt and I knew we were going too fast. This was too sweet to last.

But I still pulled off his shirt. And then I gave in. I put myself in his hands and I held on to the secret that I wanted this more than anything. Something was igniting in my veins…love? It was something I hoped would never fade. We were still pressed up against the white house.

--

I woke up the next morning with a bit of a headache. I looked around the room. Remus had fallen asleep in the oversized chair. James and Lily were under a blanket together on the couch and Sirius and I had apparently crashed on the floor. Looking at his sleeping figure, I remembered the events of last night. My first time. It was hard to explain, I felt a rush, yet some pain. I looked out the window. It was a cloudy day. I looked back to Sirius. Sirius Black, notorious womanizer. For him, sleeping with girls was common.

He was my first time. My first mistake.

I looked over at Lily and James. They were so in love, it was insanely obvious. They had moved so fast, gave their single lives up so easily. Sirius didn't, I didn't and even though the pang of those wounds were silly, I knew they would never mend. _Sirius._ I made a stupid mistake, I feel so far from the person I wanted to be. I knew I had to go and not come back, not be in his presence again. I would put my hurt feelings in the dust.

I looked around at the other four people in the room and, despite everything that happened, couldn't help but smile. The five of us would always be in my heart.

James, with his ability to make you feel protected and also give you a roaring laugh at the same time. Lily, with undying faith in love and friendship. Remus, always willing to help someone and stick by his friends, even when it often landed them in trouble. And finally Sirius who, despite his flaws, was loyal and would fight for anyone he cared about. Maybe he would remember me, keep what I gave.

I made my way to the kitchen, took and handful of floo powder and took one last look around the white house. Then I was gone.

THE END


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